Does removal of old nests from nestboxes by researchers affect mite populations in subsequent nests of house wrens?
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Published source details
Pacejka A.J. & Thompson C.F. (1996) Does removal of old nests from nestboxes by researchers affect mite populations in subsequent nests of house wrens?. Journal of Field Ornithology, 67, 558-564.
Published source details Pacejka A.J. & Thompson C.F. (1996) Does removal of old nests from nestboxes by researchers affect mite populations in subsequent nests of house wrens?. Journal of Field Ornithology, 67, 558-564.
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This study is summarised as evidence for the following.
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Clean nest boxes to increase occupancy or reproductive success Action Link |
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Clean nest boxes to increase occupancy or reproductive success
A replicated, controlled study in 1993 in a floodplain and forest site in Illinois, USA (Pacejka & Thompson 1996), found that house wrens Troglodytes aedon nested in a lower proportion of cleaned nest boxes, compared to control boxes containing old nests (49% of 111 cleaned nest boxes used vs. 62% of 107 uncleaned boxes). There were no differences in reproductive output (5.5 nestlings/clutch surviving until 12 days old in cleaned nests vs. 5.2 in uncleaned nests, total of 24 nests examined) or mite infestation rates between box types. All boxes had been successfully used in 1992, with old nesting material removed from approximately half of them.
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